On Feb. 20, activists with Fightback picketed the Toronto Consulate General of Pakistan at 7880 Keele St. to demand the release of Rawal Asad. Soon after we arrived, a few comrades went inside first to deliver a letter on behalf of Fightback addressed to the consul general. We were able to meet with the vice consul general, Mr. Muhammad Junaid Wazir, and delivered the letter along with a breakdown of events that occured on the day of Rawal’s arrest.

Last November, GM announced the closure of its plant in Oshawa and in four American cities. Production will be shifted to Mexico, where wages are lower and labour rights are almost non-existent. In response, Unifor, the union representing Oshawa GM workers, has called for a consumer boycott of Mexican-made vehicles to pressure the company into staying put. However, whatever the intentions, this approach may end up doing more harm than good.

In November of last year GM announced that they were closing their plant in Oshawa. Approximately 2,500 workers will be directly affected by this, while workers from parts and feeder plants also stand to lose their jobs. In total, the closure is going to lead to an estimated 20,000-30,000 people unemployed in Durham Region.

On Jan. 17, the Ford government announced a series of deep cuts to post-secondary education, primarily impacting low-income students. In order to stifle his opposition, Ford also announced measures that would undermine funding for student unions, student newspapers and campus clubs. This is a direct attack on working class students, campus workers and student democracy, and must be opposed by all means possible.

In mid-January, the Ford government leaked news that it would be reducing tuition fees by 10 per cent across Ontario. The decision was immediately met with suspicion by students. Their suspicion, it turns out, was justified.

On Nov. 15, Finance Minister Vic Fideli delivered Ontario’s fall economic statement. Premier Doug Ford likely expected a certain degree of backlash, considering the statement included tax breaks for the rich and ending rent controls on new properties. Indeed, riding out backlash has become routine for the still-fresh Progressive Conservative government. However, there is one front where Ford seems to have been taken off guard by the scale and intensity of the resistance he is facing: cuts affecting Franco-Ontarians.

In late September, Fightback launched a campaign against Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s anti-protest law, which aims to provide a safe space for the far-right racists and bigots on campus by banning protests against them in the name of “free speech” (read our in-depth analysis here). This mandate, which threatens to penalize universities and colleges, student unions, clubs, and individual students who do not comply, is in reality an attack on the freedom of expression and assembly of students and faculty.

After months of threats, Premier Doug Ford’s Tory government has at last tabled its central, planned attack on the working class with Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act. If passed, it will reverse nearly every legal reform won by the labour movement in the past decade, and it must be fought tooth and nail.